Jessica Backhaus is geboren in Cuxhaven, Duitsland in 1970. Op haar 17 verhuisde ze naar Parijs. Daar studeerde ze fotografie en visuele communicatie. Hier ontmoette ze in 1992 Gisele Freund, die haar mentor en goede vriendin werd.

In 1995 bracht haar passie voor fotografie haar naar New York, waar ze begon als assistent fotograaf en haar eigen projecten starten. Since dien exposeerd ze haar werk in vele solo en groeps exposities, waaronder in The National Portrait Gallery in London en het Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin.

In de herfst van 2005 kwam haar eerste boek "Jesus and the Cherries" uit gepubliceerd door Kehrer Verlag.

Herfst 2008 kwamen 2 nieuwe boeken, beiden gepubliceerd door Kehrer Verlag. "What Still Remains" en "One Day in November", een homage aan Gisèle Freund, die haar 100ste verjaardag zou vieren in december 2008.

Jessica Backhaus wordt vertegenwoordigd door Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York, Robert Morat Galerie in Hamburg en The Photographers' Gallery in London.

Solo en Groeps tentoonstellingen:

2009-Solo Exhibition, "One Day in November" & "What Still Remains", Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria.

2009-Group Exhibition, "The Beauty of the Mistake", Puppenhaus, Lisabon, Portugal.

2009-Solo Exhibition, "Jesus and the Cherries", "Transphotographiques 2009", Lille, France.

2009-AIPAD - New York, Robert Morat Galerie booth, New York, United States.

2009-Solo Exhibition, "What Still Remains" & "One Day in November", Robert Morat Galerie, Hamburg, Germany.

2009-Solo Exhibition, "What Still Remains" & "Jesus and the Cherries", Städtische Galerie, Waldkraiburg, Germany.

2008-Photo Miami, Art & Photography Fair, Robert Morat Galerie booth, Miami, United States.

2008-Berliner Liste, Art & Photography Fair, Robert Morat Galerie booth, Berlin, Germany.

2008-Solo Exhibition, "What Still Remains" & "Jesus and the Cherries", Galerie im Schloß Borbeck, Essen, Germany.

2008-Group Exhibition, "One Day in November", Photomeetings Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

2008-Group Exhibition, "Photo50: Untitled Tales", London Art Fair, London, United Kingdom.

2007-Group Exhibition, Art Collection Deutsche Börse-New Acquisitions, Frankfurt, Germany.

2006-Group Exhibition "The Presence of Absence", Gallery W52, New York, United States.

2006-Solo Exhibition "Jesus and the Cherries", Month of Photography, Krakow, Poland.

2006-Group Exhibition, The Photographer's Gallery, London, United Kingdom.

2006-Solo Exhibition "Jesus and the Cherries", Kommunale Galerie, Leinwandhaus, Frankfurt, Germany.

2006-Solo Exhibition "Jesus and the Cherries", Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, United States.

2005-Group Exhibition "After the Fact", Berlin Photography Festival, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany.

2005-Solo Exhibition "Jesus and the Cherries", "Lichtwiesen", Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Germany.

2005-Solo Exhibition "Jesus and the Cherries", Kirsten Roschlaub Gallery, Triennial of Photography, Hamburg, Germany.

2005-Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize, The Lowry, Manchester, United Kingdom.

2004-Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom.

2003-Solo Exhibibition "Recent Works", Weiden + Kennedy Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

2001-Group Exhibition "On the road" sponsored by Audi, Stockholm, Sweden.

1998-John Kobal Portrait Award, Midland Art Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

1998-John Kobal Portrait Award, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1998-John Kobal Portrait Award, The Royal Photographic Society, Bath, United Kingdom.

1997-John Kobal Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom.

1997-Group Exhibition "Focus New York" Space Untitled Gallery, New York, United States.